They trained for space - but LBJ said no women

Shoulders to stand onMercury 13 pioneered the way for female astronauts

By Claudia Feldman |
July 1, 2003

In the early 1960s, 13 of the best and brightest women pilots in the United States sacrificed time, money, and sometimes husbands and jobs for the dream of exploring outer space.

It was all for naught.

After the 13 had undergone weeks of rigorous testing, government officials said astronaut candidates had to have experience as military test pilots. Since those jobs were closed to women, astronaut jobs were, too.

When the Mercury 13 appealed to Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who might have helped their cause, his response was negative. He wrote on a drafted letter, "Let's stop this now."

When they asked for support from astronaut John Glenn, he said, "Men go off and fight the wars and fly the planes, and women stay at home. It's a fact of our social order."

Forty years later, writer Martha Ackmann tells the story of the women who wanted to be astronauts in The Mercury 13 (Random House, $24.95). It's a little-known, little-publicized chapter in American space history.

Q: When did the idea of women astronauts first come up in the United States?

A: "1959. Jerrie Cobb by chance met Dr. Randy Lovelace and Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Flickinger walking the beach in Miami. All three were attending an aviation conference, and the men had just come back from the Soviet Union, where they heard the Soviets were thinking about launching women into space.

"Lovelace and Flickinger (who had evaluated the medical capabilities of the first batch of men astronauts) were fueled by curiosity. They wanted to know what would happen if they tested a woman. And Cobb seemed like the perfect candidate. She was in her late 20s, she'd just been named Pilot of the Year by the National Pilots Association, and she set three world aviation records."

Q: Who was the best pilot in the group?

A: "Probably Jerrie Cobb, a loner, almost taciturn, a woman of few words. When she was thrust into the media spotlight, she had to rise above her shyness to become an advocate for gender equality. Today she lives in South America, a one-woman missionary pilot. She's by herself by choice."

Q: How did Cobb do?

A: "Incredibly well. The next step was to find out if she was a fluke. So they started looking for other women pilots to test -- women who were competitive, eager, willing to take risks. The pilot's creed is `higher, faster, farther.' "

Q: What was the next step?

A: "Twenty-five women were contacted, and 19, including Cobb, came to New Mexico for the tests. Thirteen of the 19 made the cut.

"There was an interesting distinction between the men and women who were tested. The men were all in the military, and they were released from their duties to participate in the testing. The women were sworn to secrecy, so they couldn't tell their bosses why they were leaving or when they would be back.

"They risked a great deal, including marriages. Jerri Sloan Truhill's (first) husband, also a pilot, was threatened by the whole thing. When she returned home after the tests, her husband served her with divorce papers at the airport."

Q: What were the tests like?

A: "One involved very cold water, almost to the freezing point, injected into the ear to simulate wild vertigo and an out-of-control space capsule. And at one point they had to swallow 3 feet of rubber hose for gastric analyses.

"There were 75 tests in all to determine strength, endurance and resiliance. The women scored as well as the men and, at the time, that was considered extraordinary."

Q: When did the women get the first inkling they weren't going to be considered by NASA?

A: "The testing was done in three phases. They went through the first phase, the medical tests; then the second phase, the psychological tests. When it came time to start the third phase, the space flight simulation tests with Navy equipment, Navy officials wanted to be sure they had NASA's OK. That's when NASA said, `We have no interest in this program,' and the women received telegrams saying the testing was off."

Q: Did they accept the no vote of confidence?

A: "No. But the question shifted from a scientific one -- are women good candidates for space flight -- to a political one -- do women have the right to fly? The story could have ended right there, but much to the credit of Jerrie Cobb, she began to speak out. So did Jane Hart (wife of a Michigan senator). They went to see LBJ, who listened politely but shrugged his shoulders."

Q: Did they stop there?

A: "Jane Hart petitioned Congress to call a hearing to determine astronaut qualifications. And a House committee did hold a hearing. That's when Glenn was called to testify, and he said women stay at home. Hart was quite eloquent about his position. She said there are moments when a single person can make a difference and fling open doors, and he didn't take the chance."

Q: How did the women recoup?

A: "Everyone responded in different ways. Cobb eventually left the country. Jane Hart went on to become a founding director of the National Organization for Women. Wally Funk became an investigator for the National Transportation and Safety Board. She hopes to be one of the first civilians to go on for-profit commercial space travel, and she's camped out in the Mojave Desert to watch `her' rocket being built.

"Jerri Sloan Truhill lives in Dallas, and she's tart and tough-talking and wonderfully gregarious. She's a guard dog making sure women get their due at NASA. Since women make up only 20 percent of the astronaut corps today, there's still some residual sexism. The battle is far from over."

Q: When did NASA finally change the policy toward women?

A: "They opened the astronaut ranks to women in 1978, and the Mercury 13 were wonderfully excited when Sally Ride was the first American woman in space in 1983. And they were thrilled when Eileen Collins served as the first woman commander in 1999. Every chance Collins gets, she says, `I stand on the shoulders of 13 comparable women pioneers.' "

Q: And the moral of this story?

A: "We pay a terrible price in this country for sexism."

Q: Are the women bitter?

A: "After 40 years, philosophical. They shattered a lot of myths, including the idea that women don't want to do something that is dangerous or daring. Some women, just like some men, want to explore the unknown."